Thieves targeting tow vehicles at public ramps

Few fishermen doubt that the high price of gas has had an impact on their sport. A typical bass boat will burn approximately 25 gallons a day running around Clear Lake and at more than $4 a gallon, it can add up fast.

However, there is another factor that is upsetting fishermen more than using the gas in their boats ... and that's having it stolen from their tow vehicles at the ramps while they are out on the lake fishing. Recently there has been a rash of vandalism at the public boat ramps around the lake. The vandalism ranges from siphoning gas from truck tanks to stealing parts off boat trailers. One area that has been particularly hard hit is Lakeside County Park.

On Friday, Travis Tarver of Middletown launched his boat at 8 a.m. at County Park and when he returned to the ramp at 2 p.m., he discovered that someone had cut the hose that goes from his filler tube to the gas tank and stolen his gas. Tarver said stealing the gas was bad enough but the repair bill to have his truck fixed could run as high as $500.

This is not the first act of vandalism at County Park. A month ago Dan Stahlman of Lakeport had the winch stolen from his boat trailer while he was out fishing. Replacing the winch cost him nearly $300. On the same day, local fishing guide Richard Pounds, who had his truck and trailer parked next to Stahlman, had the gas siphoned out of his truck. Two weeks later another fisherman had the gas stolen from his truck at County Park and just like Tarver's vehicle, the thieves cut the filler hose.

Thieves have struck elsewhere as well. There have been at least three incidents at Library Park in Lakeport where gas has been stolen from trucks parked near the Fifth Street boat ramp. My truck was one of those hit by the vandals. There also have been incidents at Redbud Park in Clearlake. In other words, all the public boat ramps around the lake are vulnerable.

Law enforcement officials have told me the thieves have become so sophisticated that they now have electric pumps that can pump a gas tank dry in a matter of minutes. Locking gas caps aren't even a deterrent because they will crawl under the vehicle and cut the rubber or plastic hose that connects the filler tube to the gas tank. If that doesn't work, they will actually drill a hole in the bottom of the tank to remove the gasoline. Most of the newer model vehicles have plastic gas tanks so it's easy for the thieves to puncture the tank. In most cases the thieves use the stolen gas in their own vehicles but there have been cases where they are selling the gasoline.

The problem with this type of thievery is that it gives the county a bad name and will drive tourists away. No one will want to spend a day fishing on Clear Lake only to return to the boat ramp and find their gas tanks emptied or even damaged.

The problem with a boat ramp such as Lakeside County Park is that it is somewhat isolated and is easy for a couple of thieves to steal the gas from parked vehicles. All it takes is one person to serve as a lookout and the other to siphon the gasoline. It's all over in a matter of minutes. What is amazing is how brazen the thieves are. Most of the vandalism has been taking place in broad daylight.

Several fishermen have gone so far as to say they plan on setting up a sting operation where they will park a vehicle in the parking lot and then hide in the nearby bushes and attack the thieves when they try to steal the gasoline. Actually that's the worst thing someone could do because you could easily get hurt or worse. The best method is to let the Lake County Sheriff's Office handle it, but they will have to increase their patrols at these ramps.

I launch at County Park frequently and I have never seen a sheriff's patrol car. The Lakeport Police regularly patrol Library Park and it has kept the vandalism down. The other solution is for the county to install surveillance cameras at the public ramps. A surveillance camera can be purchased for less than $500 and it provides 24-hour coverage. That's a cheap price to pay to keep tourists coming to Lake County.